9/1/2011

There are times when the unreality of a situation is such that you just gape in disbelief. Such is my reaction upon perusing the reaction of the institutional left (and I include Big Media in that description) to Obama’s reversal of his former decision to urinate all over the GOP debate next Wednesday.

To listen to the stuck pigs of Big Media, the issue is not whether there is precedent for a President to lift his leg and piss all over the opposition. No, sir: the issue is whether there is precedent for Congress to refuse a President’s wishes regarding the timing of a joint session. They all simply swallow, with a deliberate and premeditated attitude of extreme naivete, the administration’s protests that it was just a coincidence that the speech was planned at the same time as a GOP debate. Sheer happenstance! And so, Boehner’s entirely reasonable request for a day’s delay is UNPRECEDENTED!!!

The situation struck some Capitol veterans as almost unprecedented in modern times.

. . . .

“It is unprecedented to reject the date that a president wants to address a joint session of the Congress,” said a senior Democratic aide familiar with arranging such events in the Capitol. “Yes, consultation always occurs, but the president always gets the date he wants.”

“Can’t think of a precedent offhand, but it is predictable,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor at Princeton University who has written extensively on American politics. “The GOP has a consistent strategy: block, obstruct and make life difficult for the president. Whatever he wants, as Groucho Marx said, they are against it.”

“The Senate Historical Office knows of no instance in which Congress refused the president permission to speak before a joint session of Congress,” Betty K. Koed, associate historian with the Senate, said in an e-mail. “Permission to speak in a joint session is given by resolution of the House and Senate, and arrangements are made through the leadership offices of each chamber.”

Nobody thinks to ask whether there is precedent for a President pre-empting an opposition party’s presidential debate. It’s all about the questions you ask. And the Journolist apparently issued the order that the behavior to focus on was Boehner’s, not Obama’s.

Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher has worked himself into such a silly lather, he is actually calling for Boehner’s resignation. I couldn’t make up something that ridiculous if I tried:

The time to raise an objection to the date was when the White House first contacted Boehner’s office, the following hour-and-a-half, or even in the fifteen minutes between when they received the letter, and when it was made public. Waiting several hours to send a refusal letter was a calculated decision, designed to disrespect and embarrass the President. Let’s grant that his hypothetical heads-up was the worst provocation imaginable. It was made in private, and the Speaker’s public response was an unprecedented insult to the office of the President of the United States.

Incidentally, I told Christopher on Twitter that I was going to be writing a post about how silly his post was — and that I would include his reaction . . . provided he got it to me within 15 minutes. He said something, but missed the deadline. The time to get it to me was within the 15 minutes I allotted him. Sorry, Mr. Angry Journalist Person! Let’s hear more from him now:

This isn’t the first unprecedented Republican insult to the presidency under Barack Obama (but it is, by far, the worst), and it isn’t even the first time John Boehner has tried to make the President “heel” with his datebook. It ought to be the last. Every American who has an appropriate respect for the office of the presidency should demand that John Boehner resign, and every legislator should amplify that demand.

The interesting question is: What is it about this president that has stripped away the veneer of respect that normally accompanies the Office of the President? Why do Republicans think this president is unpresidential and should dare to request this kind of thing? It strikes me that it could be the economic times, it could be that he won so big in 2008 or it could be, let’s face it, the color of his skin.

So if someone breaks into my home, and I shoot them, I guess that the issue is whether it is UNPRECEDENTED for me to shoot a houseguest. And if that person happens to be black — then obviously I’m a racist.

This is evidently how these leftists think. It’s truly incredible.

What I find funniest about the whole thing is the idea that THE PRESIDENT MUST GET HIS WAY AND EVERYTHING MUST BOW TO HIS WILL AND TO HELL WITH TRIVIA LIKE A DEBATE . . . but the White House is now pledging that the speech won’t interfere with a damn football game. Guess they’re able to schedule around that!

See, because they don’t want to piss off football fans. But they’re perfectly happy to piss off Republicans.

BIPARTISANSHIP!!!

UPDATE: Edited one sentence to make it extra clear that it was not Tommy Christopher who said this was about the color of Obama’s skin.

164 Responses to “UNPRECEDENTED!!!1!: The Insult to Obama Is a Wound That Will Never Heal”

This administration is surreal. I hope to some day see Todd Bridges and Tonya Harding trading quips about this single (insh’allah) term and the political climate it ushered in on an episode of World’s Dumbest Humans.

Except that they did it to Bush 41 more than once, now he never got it to a formal request because he was told ahead of time to not even try it and when Bush 41 tried to give a speech the networks wouldnt cover it saying it was politics

I wish I could give links – I should but I’m not in a spot where I can – doesnt anyone remember this though?

The President (any president) should be grateful that the Congress allows it at all. What part of EQUAL BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT did Obama miss? The Brits are very clear on this — watch what happens with the Queen shows up to speak.

The joint session is supposed to be an infrequent occurrence reserved for matters of crucial national interest. “Jobs” has been a supposed topic of such gravity for how long? And on this one particular date it became necessary to convene both houses? Purely coincidental?
The reaction to it by the Dems and their enablers is so textbook it’s like an extra credit exercise in a high school class. Spin and gut the enemy 101 for rank amateurs.

I made my feelings about this idiocy known on the earlier kerfuffle thread and won’t repeat. But the longer this has gone on the more I just shake my head. Does the WH and the media not understand how much they have raised the bar for this presidential speech? Do they not see that the more they keep this story front and center the greater the expectation will be for a wowzer, for a breathtaking oratorical and policy home run? The president has been put in a position that he can not possibly fulfill. He has nothing.

My god, even clueless Ezra realizes that this speech is going to be warmed over utter BS.

A journalist in 2011 USA thinks people should resign if they disrespect the President?

Was he in a coma during Bush’s term? Clinton’s? Reagan’s? Carter’s?

How in our government even to function without people saying ‘no’ to eachother when they don’t agree on something? This is just a stupid speech schedule. Apparently the timing was a really really really big deal to Tommy and the NYT and the LAT and the rest. WHY?

What about that time is so precious to the left? Now that Obama’s obeyed the GOP and moved the speech properly, he’s moved it again a few hours before the football game. No one cares about the time anymore, since he can’t have Rick Perry’s time in the debate.

Maybe they’ll offer leather-bound commemorative edition calligraphy gold-embossed editions of this speech like they did with the speech on race, the greatest triumph of oratory since the Sermon on the Mount.

Well I for one am not feeling very confident in my president. If he and his administration cannot even read the TV Guide and see that the debate and football game were already scheduled, then what hope is there that this same incompetent crew can actually come up with something solid and real that will effect a positive change in our economy?

The more the left comes out and attempt to make the president the victim, the more weak and incapable he appears.

@Icy. Good call. He probably scored the good stuff on Harvard Square. The Obama Yes We Will 2012 stickers are already in full effect on COEXIST cars here in Austin. One blue zone in BHO’s pocket for sure.

I may have missed it, but has Tommy written an article about the outrageous CBC accusations and threats? Does he think congresspeople publicly saying things like that about their fellow elected officials might be unprecedentedly disrespectful and insulting to the institution of congress? Has Tommy called for their resignation?

Self-selecting systems, and self-selecting sets, are interesting things. The Left/MSM/Hysteria nexus is one such interesting thing.

It’s remarkable to see so many clearly irrational, ideologically self-blinded people in positions of high income, influence and status. Then again maybe it’s not remarkable, depending what your theory is. A Princeton professor spewing such nonsense? Guess it depends what one’s opinion of Princeton is.

Like a man said, I used to be disgusted, But now I try to be amused.

btw, speaking of the whole “raaaacism” angle, isn’t it astounding (well no, I’m never astounded) how the “Perry is a dumb cowboy Texas A ‘n’ M redneck rockhead” is a perfectly legitimate and acceptable stereotype-reinforcement meme on the lips of all those saints who decry raaaacism?

Well it isn’t anything as simple as hypocrisy, don’t think that for a second. It is something far more sinister than a mere double standard; it is a weapon, and it was forged with care and glee.

Look, we all know exactly what is going to happen. Obama will start his speech at least 15 minutes late, the useful idiots on the left will cause at least 5 minutes total in pauses due to applause, and it will all still run over past kick-off time.

Has anyone ever seen Tommy Xtopher and ronbryn in the same room? Xtopher is a freaking White House correspondent, going around threatening people, challenging people to fights, cussing like a sailor, and being a general douchenozzle. He makes me seem like a gentleman.

Clearly he has been hacked. Nobody is that stupid. Well, some people are.

Off topic, way off topic …. But in an unprecedented event, for me, I went 43.9 mph on my bicycle today. It was downhill, but such a rush. Had to gt off the aero bars and brake as it was becoming unstable a bit.

Pre-election nonsense, as usual. Unfortunately, everything with the Left is ‘the election’. I want to know what my US Senator Harry Reid has to say about all of this. You can always count on Harry to be honest. LOL

At first I thought Obama’s lackey was just a bald-faced liar about this being the time for partisan politics to end and then scheduling this speech in this manner.

Then I thought that Obama and his staff are just morons who were incapable of identifying what other events are happening in the political world on the day they wanted to give a speech.

Then I listened to Carney again, and now I truly believe it was just a coincidence. Obama’s staff scheduled the speech based solely on when he could not get a tee-time; thus the scheduling conflict with the debate was just a coincidence.

Maybe the reason this hasn’t happened in recent times is that presidential addresses to joint sessions of Congress have been limited and predictable. With rare exception, such addresses occur at Presidential inaugurations, State of the Union addresses, and addresses by visiting foreign leaders. These addresses are undoubtedly scheduled well in advance. Wiki lists very few recent presidential addresses that do not fall into these categories, and I’ll refer to them as *unscheduled* addresses.

President George H.W. Bush’s addresses at 1989-1993 joint sessions of Congress include: 1 inauguration, 4 State of the Union addresses, 12 addresses by foreign leaders, commemorations of the Bicentennial of the 1st Congress and the Centennial of Dwight Eisenhower’s birth, and 2 unscheduled addresses — concerning the invasion of Kuwait and the end of the Gulf War.

During President Clinton’s terms, his addresses at 1993-2001 joint sessions of Congress were: 2 inaugurations, 8 State of the Union addresses, 12 addresses by foreign leaders, a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of WWII, and an unscheduled address on health care reform on September 22, 1993. Presumably President Clinton had no problem scheduling this address since Democrats controlled both the House (Speaker Tom Foley) and Senate (Majority Leader George Mitchell).

President George W. Bush’s addresses at 2001-2008 joint sessions of Congress were: 2 inaugurations and 8 State of the Union addresses, as well as 16 addresses by foreign leaders. The only time Bush spoke to Congress that was not scheduled or known well in advance occurred 9 days after 9/11, on September 20, 2001.

President Obama’s joint sessions of Congress include: 1 inauguration, 3 State of the Union addresses, 5 addresses by foreign leaders, and Obama’s unscheduled address on health care reform given September 9, 2009. Presumably President Obama had no problem scheduling this address since Democrats controlled both the House (Speaker Nancy Pelosi) and Senate (Majority Leader Harry Reid).

So if this scheduling problem was unprecedented, perhaps it was because unanticipated or last-minute Presidential addresses are also quite rare.

A thought: Reading Tommy’s ‘resign’ post and Tommy really (I mean really) sincere about the words he wrote, then Tommy should find it an obligation to ask Jay Carney at next Press Briefing the WH’s take / response on Tommy’s plea for Spkr Boehner to resign.

If heart felt to write, should be heart felt to ask. Take it to next step and let’s see if Tommy ends up ‘officially’ on the extreme fringe of WH correspondent thoughts on the matter.

Would Tommy be willing to risk his “reputation” (mouthing off on Mediaite different than in the WH press room I guess) to ask the question? Or, we could determine Tommy just being extreme Tommy.

Guys if (that’s “If” mot “when”) you watch The Bamster’s speech you can play Bull Shit Bingo.

The rules for BSB are easy. Since I don’t expect a single thing new in the speech, I could have written this speech before the Martha’s Vineyard vacation Make a list of the expected talking points; “green jobs” “renewable energy” “keep the one percent payroll tax cut for one more year” “stimulus” “infrastructure” “investment” in some liberal wet dream etc. “tax the rich” “pay their fair share” “you can still keep your health plan” “obstructionist Tea Party” etc.

You can make your own list of ten such phrases. You’ve heard it all before. Sit with three or four of your friends who’ve also heard it all before. Have them make up their list of ten “tried and true Obama phrases”. When a phrase comes up, check it off your list.

First person to get 5 “tried and true Obama phrases” checked off his list yells “BullShit Bingo” and is the big winner.

Or if you don’t have any friends dumb enough to want to sit through more mush from the wimp, you can play alone. Take a good stiff drink everytime one of those phrases rolls off the teleprompter. Ten minutes into the speech, you’ll be so hammered that you won’t care anymore.

The Democrats have to play the race card, it’s all they have. The economy is in shambles. Unemployment is high. Our foreign policy might make sense to someone, somewhere.. but I doubt it. The total failure and total corruption in this administration are obvious to everyone except lefty intellectuals.

There is a problem however. African Americans and the intellectual left turned out in record numbers and voted by hugh margins for Obama in 2008. They are the only ones left who believe the charge of racism and they are not going to perform as well for Obama next year. Calling the other side racist without any evidence whatsoever looses votes among every other group of citizens.

But the Democrats don’t have any other issues. Their entire campaign is to buy votes with costly, unnecessary and wasteful spending or to manufacture votes from those not eligible whether non-citizens like aliens, legal and illegal, or felons, or the dead, or the imaginary.

“…TO HELL WITH TRIVIA LIKE A DEBATE . . . but the White House is now pledging that the speech won’t interfere with a damn football game. Guess they’re able to schedule around that!

See, because they don’t want to piss off football fans. But they’re perfectly happy to piss off Republicans.”

Republicans seem perfectly capable of pissing themselves off over trivia, see. The “debate” itself has been rescheduled several times; from May 2 to Sept. 14 and now to Sept 7, see. The rationale from ‘organizers’ being the field was too trivial; not enough ‘top-tiered’ candidates had declared they were in then, see. Players and fans show up for those ‘damn football games,’ particularly season openers, see. Seems coaxing players to take to the GOP field was a problem for a time, see. Trivia like that can be a GOP ‘hell,’ see.

From Politico – 3/20/11: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation has postponed its debate for Republican candidates from May 2 to September 14 [Now scheduled for September 7.] The move, announced … in conjunction with cosponsors NBC and POLITICO, follows an unexpectedly slow start to the Republican presidential nominating contest. Organizers worried that the May 2 debate, which was announced shortly after the midterm elections last November, would not attract candidates who will eventually get into the race but are delaying announcements for legal and political reasons. Only one top-tier candidate, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, has officially created an exploratory committee. [Pawlenty flamed out already, withdrawing from the race due to his third place showing i/t Iowa S/P.]

DRJ–
Thanks for posting that good information about the occasions when joint session speeches have been given by other recent presidents. It’s very valuable to the discussion to see it researched and presented as you did here. And it does affect the narrative when one understands that it’s the request itself which is on the “unprecedented” side of the ledger.

Disco Stu tries to channel Edward G, see. However, as with most of his posts, he ultimately makes no relevant points, see. He babbles on about the date of debate being changed more than once, see; apparently, he wants it moved again, see. Can you say “Make Room For Bambi”?

Either that, or, it’s just another of his lame attempts to move the goal posts, see. “Look! Not enough viable candidates for a debate!”

Well, I think Obammered is very talented on 2 counts.
1. How he can go on and on like this and NEVER EVER once have I seen him snicker or laugh behind his hand like the trial lawyer in Florida.

2. He is able to do everything from campaign to encourage, promise, diss, mock, rebuke,strut,chide,explain,get new jobs, fix the world, and make excuses with just one part of him, HIS MOUTH. All he ever does is TALK, except for that time when Osama was being killed and he was all hunched over, the smallest person in the room, carrying a waterbottle in from the greens.THEN we saw him in action, among his “peers”, all tiny looking, scared, like he was 7 years old.Weird, huh? But put him in front of his TT, trusty teleprompter and he thinks he is the Lone Ranger! LOL.

iMP is a freakin imbecile. He is citing changes made during a primary from last November, 2 years prior to the election and 10 months prior to th edentate in question, and another change made almost 6 months ago in March. Nice copypasta, IMP. You never fail to live down to your expectations.

I believe that Obama truly believes that Bush acted like a dictator and did whatever he wanted without reguard for the other branches of government. This is untrue but explains why Obama thinks he only has to proclaim something for it to happen with no further action on his part. Like closing Gitmo, proposing new health care law…etc. It is also why he blames his opposition for failing to pursue his stated policy. He never saw the work former presidents and their staffs put in while trying to pass their policies through Congress. So once again, he is coming to Congress with policy that he has not tried to get support from Congress prior to lecturing them as to what he wants. The man has no concept of what is required to promote policy, empty suit.

I am beginning to think that both the left and the media deliberately choose the most illogical and opposite of reality when addressing any issue. The result being a world turned upside down. Right is wrong, black is white, evil is okay and lies are true and truth is photoshopped!

The Exalted One expects acquiescence and so do his disciples and toadies, it’s the story of his life, Obama needs but ask and others hasten to deliver smiling and with obsequious gratitude.

He’s entitled, it’s the law. You just can’t expect a guy who’s been pampered his whole life on Affirmative Action set-asides to follow standard procedures. Rules are for the little people, now get on your knees and show some damn respect.

Lest anyone think Xtopher’s level of “journalism” is, well, unprecedented, this morning on the euphemism I happened to read a poem by Ogden Nash, which caused me to look up Drew Pearson. Now there was a nasty piece of work.

Obama’s staff scheduled the speech based solely on when he could not get a tee-time;

What do you mean, “could not get a tee-time”? This is unprecedented! An outrage! What’s the point of being president if you can’t get whatever tee-time you want? I demand that the golf course manager and all the groundskeepers resign.

Lest anyone think Xtopher’s level of “journalism” is, well, unprecedented, this morning on the euphemism I happened to read a poem by Ogden Nash, which caused me to look up Drew Pearson. Now there was a nasty piece of work.

Not quite. O’Neill was quite prepared to hold a joint session and let Reagan address it; in fact he said it was his “practice” to support “any presidential request to address a joint session of Congress”. What he refused to allow Reagan to do was to address just the House.

In fact O’Neill (falsely) called Reagan’s request “unprecedented” and an “unorthodox procedure”, while the RNC chair called O’Neill’s refusal “an unbelievable act of unprecedented arrogance”. So even the flinging around of “unprecedented” is not unprecedented.

The June 24, 1986, edition of The Wall Street Journal featured a story headlined, “President’s Bid to Address the House On Nicaragua Is Rejected by Speaker.” That’s right, no quibbling over the date and time, just a flat-out rejection.

Let the name of Thomas “Tip” O’Neil be stricken from every book and tablet, stricken from all pylons and obelisks, stricken from every monument of the US of A. Let the name of Thomas “Tip” O’Neil be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of men for all time.

“The June 24, 1986, edition of The Wall Street Journal featured a story headlined, “President’s Bid to Address the House On Nicaragua Is Rejected by Speaker.” That’s right, no quibbling over the date and time, just a flat-out rejection.”

A Random Thought….
What with all of the controversy over imported wood, and the allegation that the Administration told Gibson that they should have the wood they use crafted by foreign workers before it is imported; I have just one question:
That $1.1MM Prevost motor-home that the WH just bought is a top-of-the-line Luxury model marketed to some pretty particular consumers.
What wood does it use for interior trim and cabinetry?
Is any of that wood on a restricted list?

That incident between RR and Tip must not have ever happened.
I was just watching Mark Shields and David Brooks on PBS NewsHour, and neither of them mentioned it, but stated that Boehner’s action in not acceeding to the Presidents “request” to address the Congress was “unprecedented”.
Now, who you gonna believe, the WSJ or your lying ears listening to Shields and Brooks, who would never utter a falsehood?

AD – the First Harpy, the one that would regulate your diet, presented a Gibson made of rosewood as a gift to Sarkozy’s wife. So, they will punish Gibson via the Chicago way, but use their products as gifts. Hypocrites. Do any of their competitors have the same issue with the same wood?

Gibson’s major competitor, Martin, has no problems.
Could it have anything to do with the fact that Martin is a Union-Shop in PA, and that the owner is a contributor/fundraiser for Obama/Dems?
We report, you decide!

Meanwhile, a well-known billionaire who oddly (and pathetically) is of the left and someone who loves to give hugs to liberal politicians like Obama, and a like-minded, Democrat-registered predecessor to the current White House administration—and who also was president during the country’s last major period of economic weakness…

Newsmax.com, September 1, 2011:

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett triggered a major debate over taxes recently when he wrote in The New York Times that he should be paying more to the federal government. He called on Washington lawmakers to up tax rates on the rich.

But it turns out that Buffett’s own company, Berkshire Hathaway, has had every opportunity to pay more taxes over the last decade. Instead, it’s been mired in a protracted legal battle with the Internal Revenue Service over a bill that one analyst estimates may total $1 billion.

Yes, that’s right: while Warren Buffett complains that the rich aren’t paying their fair share his own company has been fighting tooth and nail to avoid paying a larger share.

The story of Berkshire’s years-long tax battle, which is generally known in business circles, took on new life this week when a group called Americans for Limited Government (ALG) reported that, according to Berkshire Hathaway’s own annual report, the company is embroiled in an ongoing standoff over its tax bills.

That report, in turn, was cited in an editorial in The New York Post.

“Obvious question: If Buffett really thinks he and his ‘mega-rich friends’ should pay higher taxes, why doesn’t his firm fork over what it already owes under current rates?” the Post opined.

“Likely answer: He cares more about shilling for President Obama — who’s practically made socking “millionaires and billionaires” his re-election theme song — than about kicking in more himself.”

taxhistory.tax.org: Consider, for instance, the tax returns of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The returns were not released during FDR’s presidency, but had they been, they would have proved an embarrassment. Tax Analysts has recently acquired from the National Archives copies of the tax returns that Roosevelt filed between 1913 and 1937. And as a group, they reveal something striking: Roosevelt — a vicious and moralistic scourge of tax avoiders everywhere — had a penchant for minimizing his own taxes.

Throughout his 12 years in office, Roosevelt was a frequent critic of Americans who tried to avoid taxes, even using legal means. “Mr. Justice Holmes said, ‘Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society,’” Roosevelt told Congress in 1937. “Too many individuals, however, want the civilization at a discount.”

During his first term in office, FDR repeatedly claimed that he was exempt from the high tax rates on personal income that Congress had enacted — and Roosevelt had approved — in the revenue acts of 1934 and 1935.

^ Look up the phrase “limousine liberal” and you’ll see photos of Warren Buffet and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

It did happen, but it’s not a precedent for Boehner’s decision. O’Neill did not refuse to hold a joint session; on the contrary, he said his policy was to always agree to presidential requests for joint sessions, whenever the president wanted one. What Reagan asked for was to address just the House, and O’Neill said that was wrong and “unprecedented”. He was wrong about that, BTW, but that is what he claimed; that Reagan could address either both houses at once, or neither.

Milhouse, Yes, I know those details.
The point was that Shields and Brooks did not mention that “precedent” at all.
They were just advancing the “unprecedented” meme that the Journolist community had settled upon, regardless of the facts of the matter.

When is the media less than truthfull:
When it is speaking over the airwaves, or putting something down in print.